If you consider yourself a people person, like helping solve problems for customers, and are interested in flexible working hours with opportunities for bonuses, then customer service might be exactly what you’re looking for.
With more companies opting for remote customer service positions, there are also plenty of opportunities to work from the comfort of your home. If you are looking for work in customer service and would like to know how best to start your journey, below are some useful customer service job hunt tips and tools.
Make Sure You Have a Professional and Current Resume
Employers will almost always read your cover letter first, but a well-written CV may clinch the deal for an interview. Make a professional CV outlining your job history and experience. In addition, emphasize specific skills and expertise mentioned in the job description. Is the company looking for someone who “understands electronics”? Then, in your CV, emphasize your interest in electronics.
Having a CV that is optimized around keywords that are mentioned throughout the job description is very important. More and more, companies are using recruiting software that employ algorithms to sort and shortlist candidates, and they are looking for instances of these keywords to make their sorting decisions.
Find a Position That Suits Your Style and Skills
Customer service positions abound, especially during the holiday season. Some opportunities will demand previous sales expertise, while others will only require you to be a customer care representative. In many instances, positions with higher skill requirements may pay more, which obviously means you should prioritize these jobs if you have the experience.
You might also look for jobs with flexible hours and companies that enable you to work from home. The last item to consider is the educational requirements. Some organizations will demand a high school certificate or an Associate’s Degree in order to qualify for the job, so make a list of positions that fit your qualifications and experience.
Also consider the kind of work that you would prefer. Are you looking for a remote chat position or would you prefer to be manning phones in a call center? Are the companies you are looking at working for located in the same time zone as you, or will you be required to work inconvenient hours based on a time zone difference?
Research Your Employer Before the Interview
Your chances of landing the job will almost always increase dramatically if you conduct preliminary research on the organization. Whether you’re writing a cover letter, prepping for an interview, or putting together a CV, research is essential to your job hunt.
Examine an employer’s website and try to find out how they handle customer service. What are they hoping buyers will remember about the firm and their purchasing experience? What are the customer service policies of the company? What is the corporate culture like, and do you think you’d fit in? Having answers to these questions, as well as follow ups, will impress hiring managers and boost your chances of landing the job.
Get an Online Customer Service Certification
Learn how to become a certified online customer support representative. Consider acquiring an online certificate to highlight your talents if you’ve been looking for customer service work for a long time but haven’t had much luck finding something meaningful. Making the effort to learn more about the sector and formalize your education can make a world of difference in your job search and lets employers know that you are serious about adding value and doing a good job.
There are plenty of online course providers offering sought-after and highly-esteemed customer service courses. These include companies like HubSpot’s Customer Service Skills, Service Strategies Technical Support Professional Training, Home Study Center Free Customer Service Course.
It also helps to brush up on terminology and industry trends before going into a job interview. The person interviewing and hiring you is going to be an industry professional and if you are able to speak to them using terminology and concepts that are current and testify to your genuine interest in the industry, you are going to make a better impression.
Whether you are looking for a career in customer service or are interested in a temporary position while you finish your education or are in between jobs, there are things you can and should be doing to make the job search easy on yourself. Having a standout resume, upskilling with a professional certification that you can easily do online, doing good employer research, and choosing positions that match your experience and capabilities all go a long way.
